I have to go awayI've got no reason to stay hereYou said someday you'll changeBut even a fool will tell youSomeday never comes

You built your rooms, you built your wallsYou kept me outside of it allI got tired of youWhat's a girl to doMaybe someday if we stay this wayAnd you see my face in a different placeYou'll remember whenYou're going to thank me then

Inspired by Brandi Carlile's Someday Never Comes. Leaving somewhere familiar to go somewhere you've never been before, or haven't visited in a very long time, is scary sometimes. But that should never keep you from going.

I've gotten a lot of questions about deer and water lately, and a few people have asked me "how often do deer even swim anyway?" Actually its not unheard of for deer to swim from the mainlands out into seemingly "open water," which to some people may seem bizarre or even idiotic, but deer are a lot wiser than we give them credit for. The blacktails here swim from island to island in the Puget Sound regularly, almost as if commuting, to get to certain browse or to retreat back to a deserted place of rest. Deer have been recorded swimming from Pennsylvania to New Jersey, and back again corresponding with the slightly different hunting seasons. Even pregnant does have been known to swim great distances here in Washington just to reach remote islands where they can safely birth and raise their fawns. Swimming is not an alien concept to deer.

"But how can they swim, with those spindly legs of theirs?" Spindlyness aside, deer are very narrow bodied and they swim in the same manner of a dog or horse, which as you may already be aware are very competent swimmers. Deer have been known to swim at 13 miles an hour, and have been known to traverse over 5 miles of water in a single trip.

P.S I have real trouble with drawing water. It took me forever to turn it from the perfect example of childlike incompetence to something marginally decent. I tried to make this look like an old grainy photograph. Also, those are supposed to be her shoulders, not her rump... The perspective is lost I think... I'm not sure if it's just the water breaking up the outline or I actually fail at drawing.

First off, this is absolutely gorgeous. I'm nuts for this piece and so I had to critique this, I hope you find it fair.You have done a beautiful job with the water. The ripples, consistency of color, and reflecting is perfect, I don't think I could ever have done better. It makes me want to see more of your work, which is my next stop right after I finish this. 5 for technique.From a distance this looks like a perfectly-timed photograph with really compelling context, again I absolutely love that about this piece. It holds a great amount of mystery and sends chills down my spine. I have never see a piece quite like this one, and so 5 for originality, 5 for impact.This is honestly my only suggestion- there is a black outline on the deer, which from a distance is barely noticeable, but was the factor that while works for illustration styles, does not exactly fit with the softness of the rest of the piece. However this is my own opinion, If you feel the need to play around with it by all means why not My last comment is about the coloring of the deer's fur. The same two colors are used on the whole of the body, where from my experience some variation may add to it being realistic (However I love how it doesn't look photo-realistic, and very nicely done so.)I also need to point out the sensitivity of the mist and trees- there is nothing you need to do here because it is simply magnificent and to not point it out would be a crime.

This is my favorite one out of all your gallery so far and I cant wait to see what other stuff you are gonna come up with. I love the way you have the trees in the fog, and the way you did the deer in the water. it just looks like a early morning in Washington state and Oregon. major, major beauty.

Absolutely breathtaking, a truly inspiring piece that makes me want to write the water has such excellent texture and movement I really can't say I see a thing wrong with it. The fur on the deer really looks like it's wet, I will tell you when I first saw this piece I was convinced it was photoshopped pics, then I looked closer and I lost my mind. Keep up the fantastic work, and thank you for such a beautiful piece <3

I think this is quite beautiful and your water is spot on. I see what you say about it looking like her rump - and I agree - but I don't think that's a bad thing. It looks like the correct perspective - wouldn't have known otherwise had you not mentioned it. We are, however, our own worst critics I love the overall feel and the details like her breath just being visible.

This is seriously gorgeous, Shaddie, I love it. In regards to perspective, I definitely thought that was rump. I think it's a combination of the shape (very rounded) and the way it dips into the water between neck and shoulder. It leaves me with the impression of her front feet being lower than her back (shallows sloping into deep).

This is stunning, you did an amazing job on the water. There's a real sense of movement! If I were to critique one thing it would be what you've mentioned about the perspective being a little lost. I got the impression that the deer is already swimming in deep water from the ripples, therefore the shoulders wouldn't be that visible, if at all. However, it does look like its rump! It actually looks more like the deer is walking into deeper water from the shallows (: So I think it does work very well, even if it wasn't what you intended (and personally, gives a more "embarking on a journey" feeling)!

Well I was referencing images like [link] and [link] for this, so the shoulders CAN be visible, but I'm not sure why this came out so wonky when I tried it. It seems like such a simple thing to do, just add the shoulders/upper back in... Maybe it's the pattern of the markings, it distracts from the shading? I don't know! Argggg Thanks from the critique and the nice comments